The Other Clone Wars
by VanishingStar
Summary: 22BBY, and the Clone Wars are about to explode into action. Only this time, there are different players in the Siths' game... AU where Qui survived Naboo, T for safety.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

It was a dark night on the planet of Raxus Secundus, in the year 22BBY. Raxus was known for its beauty and peace, and this night should have been no different. But torches flashed across the sides of the craggy mountains and into houses, and the regular tramping of metal feet shook the walls of buildings in Raxulon.

From the empty streets there came the sound of running footsteps, out of time with the pulse of the marching. A cloaked figure emerged from the shadows at full pace, throwing a glance across its shoulder briefly and at last relaxing, just slightly. From within its cloak it took out a handheld comlink and started hissing into it.

"Raxus, requesting assistance, over."

Only a Jedi could still hold such a calm tone with half a planet's security forces out looking for them.

"Raxus, requesting assistance, over."

But still no reply came. The Jedi frowned, retreated back into the shadows, and tried again.

"Raxus, requesting assistance, over."

The Jedi shook the comm in frustration and spoke again, louder, more urgently.

"Raxus, requesting assistance, over. Raxus, requesting assistance, over. Raxus..."

A guard ran into the courtyard, eyes widening as he realised he was face to face with the most wanted man on the planet. Then his eyes slid shut as he crumpled to the floor, unconscious. The Jedi stood over him grimly, and activated the comm once more.

"Is anyone there? I'm reporting from Raxus, I have an army at my heels and I have no transport. I need back-up, back-up here, and back-up now."

Still, no answer. The Jedi neatly dispatched of another patrol unfortunate enough to come across him but behind him, the regular marching quickened, and he knew that he'd been spotted. He shouted into his comm as he began to run:

"Is anyone there? I repeat, _is anyone there?_ This is Obi-Wan Kenobi, I'm on Raxus. _I need back-up!_"

He skidded as in front of him he saw a wall of guards, all armed. He turned, but there were guards there too. Not just guards, but droidekas, destroyers, and those _blasted_ battle droids... Surrounded. There was no way he was going to be able to fight his way out of this. But unless back-up came, he would have to at least try.

The Jedi reluctantly ignited his lightsaber, tucking the comm under his chin as he continued to speak into it. Steadily, inevitably, droids advanced on him, firing over and over again, and he screamed over the noise, "_Help me! I'm on Raxus, I'm in Raxulon, I need help!_" He cut through the first lines of droids, molten metal flying everywhere, but they didn't stop coming, they just never stopped coming...


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's** **note: **Well, welcome to the fanfic. I've no idea how this is going to work, but if you're passionately Anakin/Padme, don't judge. None of these characters belong to me (obviously) and yeah. Enjoy. (Or hate or just vaguely dislike. Your choice.)

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_It had been quite a good mission, _Obi-Wan Kenobi reflected as he slowly came to, _at least until the battle droids arrived._

It had also been, on the surface of things, a very simple mission. Raxus Secundus, a planet in the Outer Rim Territories, had announced its intention to leave the Galactic Republic. This was sad, especially given the other recent losses, but it happened every now and then. To be quite frank he'd been expecting something like this to happen ever since some Count had commandeered a local HoloNet station and had delivered a speech ranting about corruption in the Republic. He'd actually thought more in that sector would leave.

Anyway, protocol had to be followed, and some senators had travelled there to see if the Raxians might change their minds – an unlikely outcome – and he'd been sent to protect them, just in case. The assignment had been considered so low-risk that his padawan had been sent to a completely different area of the galaxy. No-one had thought even he would be needed, but again it was protocol.

The Council had actually thought they were giving him a holiday.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Obi-Wan's suspicions had first been raised when he'd spotted his good friend Nute Gunray from the Trade Federation in a crowd. It could have just been a case of mistaken identity, or an innocent coincidence, but Obi-Wan was instinctively wary of anything Gunray. So he'd applied to stay on the planet for just a week longer after the senators left, incognito. The Council hadn't been best pleased, but they'd agreed that Obi-Wan might as well just carry out this investigation of his while they didn't have to ask the Senate for permission to land on foreign territory. Still, everybody thought it was probably a false alarm.

_Then,_ a couple of days after the senators had left, the battle droids had arrived, and after that things really just got worse, as he'd steadily found out more and more about what the Separatists were planning. He'd risked making contact with a Jedi ship stationed near the Raxus system, to tell them he was on the edge of something big and he might need assistance at some point. On the other hand, this ship happened to be where Qui-Gon and Anakin were, and he'd actually had quite a nice conversation with them.

But that night when he'd finally found everything out, and was discovered himself, he'd called to them for help, and there had been no reply. The comm line had worked, he'd got through all right, but there was just nobody at the other end.

After that, the fight had gone about as expected: himself on the floor, unconscious, with a force inhibitor plunged into his neck. And now he was coming round, two questions dominating his mind.

_Where am I?_

_And where are Qui-Gon and Anakin?_

* * *

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Padawan, was currently slumped on a chair, on a Jedi spaceship stationed somewhere near the Raxus System. His master stood over him, his height throwing a shadow across Anakin's face. And he was furious.

_Boy_, was he furious.

"Running off like that – completely abandoning your duty – nearly gave me a heart attack – I _told_ you we would go _directly_ after we came off this ship – Anakin, are you even paying attention?"

"_Yes, _Master_._"

"Don't give me that tone, Anakin! You can't just leave like that. Somebody could have died!"

Anakin snapped.

"Yes, Master, somebody nearly _did_ die – my mother. My force visions have been telling me to help her for _weeks_, and it was lucky that I went when I did, instead of going 'when we came off duty'. Because in case you didn't _realise_, she was being carried off by kriffin' Tusken Raiders!"

He threw himself back in his chair, breathing heavily. He'd never really had many arguments with his master before. Qui-Gon was several generations older than him and it showed in his teaching, though he was revolutionary in many others. Discipline, discipline, discipline. Except when Qui-Gon didn't like the Council's ruling and went against that. It didn't seem to matter then.

Qui-Gon glowered down at him.

"That in no way excuses the fact, Anakin, that you left this ship and legged it to Tatooine, potentially leaving a Jedi in need of assistance without any help. I thought I could trust you here when me and Master Secura were out, but clearly not."

Anakin chewed the inside of his cheek.

"I thought you would understand," he said, softly, miserably.

Because he'd been so proud, so happy. He'd saved his mother and got her back to his step-family. She'd laughed and asked what she would do without him. Owen and Beru had looked on in awe. Cliegg had congratulated him gruffly. Everyone was so grateful, all the people who he'd saved in the raid, all their families. Everyone was so amazed when they saw what little Ani, the slave, had grown up to be. And then Master Qui-Gon had landed and he'd seen the fury on his face.

Obviously he'd known his Master wouldn't be pleased. He'd taken that fully into consideration when he'd left. But what he hadn't predicted was that his mother, his own mother, would take Qui-Gon's side. He had thought she would be proud. She was disappointed. She told him he couldn't look back, she didn't want him to drop his duties because of her, that she would rather die than him abandon a Jedi who might need help too, when it was his duty to help the Jedi.

He'd said, but there was no other Jedi. There's no one else in our sector apart from the ones Master Qui-Gon and Master Secura were helping.

She'd looked at him and sighed. Said Ani, I love you, go back now. Like he was a slave again and he'd run, crying, away from Watto. Ani, I love you, go back now.

He'd gone back. Faced Qui-Gon's anger. Knew there was going to be a punishment. Felt a vague pity for Master Secura who had to hang around awkwardly the entire time.

None of it was as bad as disappointing his mother.

Maybe Qui-Gon saw some of this, or felt it through their bond, because he sighed a little, sat down and looked Anakin in the face.

"I think you've learnt the lesson," he said gently. Anakin gulped a little, and Qui-Gon looked at him with ever increasing sympathy. "Do you want to go to the control room now?"

Anakin nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and headed off to do his duty.

He sat aimlessly in the control room for a while, drifting over where it had all gone so wrong. No calls came in, and so there was nothing to distract him, apart from a stupid red flashing light. Anakin reached over and tried to turn it off for several seconds before he realised what it was – a comlink. More specifically, the comlink that linked them and Obi-Wan.

_Oh, no._

He'd said he might need help at some point.

_Oh no, oh no._

Anakin saw the time stamp on the message. It had been sent three standard hours ago. While he was on Tatooine.

_Oh no oh no oh no no no no no._

Anakin let the message play through. He heard the desperation in Obi-Wan's voice, the blaster shots and the lightsaber, the thud as the comm hit the ground with his Master's old padawan, with one of the people he trusted most in the entire galaxy. Perhaps most bitingly, he heard the concern when Obi-Wan got no reply. The concern for Qui-Gon and Anakin, not for himself.

_-Was that Obi-Wan I heard?-_ came through the bond. _-What's he doing here?-_ Anakin could feel Qui-Gon's forgiveness through the bond, but it only made him feel worse. Like the coward that he was, he answered by speech, not the bond, so his Master wouldn't be able to feel everything that he felt.

"He's calling for help, Master," and as Anakin had known he would be, Qui-Gon was straight into the control room.

"Where is he? What's his situation?"

"He's on Raxus," Anakin replied. "He was found out."

"I'll go down at once." Qui-Gon was heading out, but Anakin kept talking, staring at the comm.

"He was captured," and the sick crunch of Obi-Wan's body played through his mind.

"Anakin?" Qui-Gon turned as his Padawan's tone finally sunk in. "Are you- "

"He was captured three standard hours ago. The message is from three standard hours ago."

"Ani?"

"He sent it while I was on Tatooine. When I'd left to save Mom. Three standard hours ago."

Anakin stared at the floor.

"You were right, Master. It's my fault."

_I'd rather die than you abandon a Jedi._

"If I hadn't gone to Tatooine- "

_But Mom, there was no other Jedi._

"Padawan, don't worry about the possibilities, the might-have-beens. There's still a chance to help him. I'll go now, you stay here."

_I have an army at my heels, I need back-up._

Anakin had a horrible feeling that chance was long gone. But he knew Qui-Gon would go anyway.

_Help me! I'm on Raxus, I'm in Raxulon, I need help!_

* * *

"Master?" Anakin answered the comm immediately. "Is..."

He trailed off. He already knew what his Master was about to say.

"I traced his comm, and checked out all the places I know he's been. His tracker itself has been shorted." There was a pause at the other end. "I'm sorry, Anakin. He's gone."


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **So many thanks to everyone who followed/faved/reviewed! I did not expect that after my first post on this thing! Love you all, you're all amazing, enjoy the next installment...

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

_Where am I?_

Obi-Wan hung suspended in mid-air, shackles around his wrists and ankles. Blue strands of electricity and the Force held the him up, and rotated him slowly around. If this went on for much longer, he was going to get sea-sick, if that was the right word for it. Then a door in his cell opened and an old man walked in, and with him, the power of the dark side.

"Ah, Master Kenobi," the man smiled like a shark. Several responses flew threw Obi-Wan's head, including "Traitor", "Sith", and a few more that would rightly be censored. Instead, he found himself smiling back pleasantly, and responding "Count Dooku" like they were good friends.

Kaia always laughed at him for being an adrenaline junkie.

"Well, I assume you know about my purpose here," Dooku said, keeping step with him as he turned.

"Enough," Obi-Wan replied, casually.

"But do you? Do you know my true motivations?" Dooku fired off the questions. Again, Obi-Wan remained non-committed.

"I'd certainly like to think I do."

_You want power, you want imbalance, you want chaos like any other Sith._

"The Republic is completely corrupted. The Senate is full of hypocrites and worse. If you knew the things I do, then I doubt that you would want to protect it anymore. Join me. Join me and we will stop the crisis together."

A single eyebrow raise can go a long way. Obi-Wan's managed to convey polite interest, slight disbelief and a hint of contempt far better than speech could have done. Dooku paused, reflecting on some other matter.

"I miss Qui-Gon," the Count suddenly said. "I fell out of touch with him many years ago, but I know that if he saw what I am doing he would- "

"Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you."

"So sure! I promise you, young Master Kenobi, Qui-Gon would never go along with the Senate and the Council. You forget that he was once my padawan as you were once his. If only he could see what is happening to our Republic..."

"And what _is_ happening to our Republic? Or do you expect me to join you on the basis of moonshine and rumours?"

Perhaps he had let too many of his true feelings show. Dooku narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't lose his thread.

"A Sith controls the Senate," he spat out abruptly. "The entire Senate is under the influence of a Sith Master."

For once, the blow had gone home. Obi-Wan was briefly stunned.

"Impossible," he said as soon as he had collected himself. "The Jedi would have sensed it."

"Unfortunately, as I am sure you are aware, the Jedi Council's vision is clouded. Think – how long did it take for them to accept that the Sith were back in the first place?"

A treacherous part of Obi-Wan's brain agreed. _You know it's true. You know they cannot see the way they used to._ Ashamed, he found himself unable to meet Dooku's eyes, and he felt the older man smile a shark's smile of triumph.

"Think on it, Master Kenobi – grand-Padawan, if I may."

With one last smile of victory, Dooku swept out of the cell, leaving Obi-Wan to curse himself for his weakness. The problem was, he agreed with all Dooku's points – the Senate _was_ corrupt, the Council's vision _was_ clouded. But could a Sith be controlling the Senate? _I'm sure Dooku would know all about the affairs of the Sith, _the cynical side of him said. But then again – was it just a bluff? Or was Dooku really telling the truth? Why would he reveal another Sith? Surely it would _suit _him to have a Sith controlling the Senate? Was it just a lie to hook him into supporting the cause? Or was it a truth _but _told to hook him in? Could Dooku have said it simply to confuse him? If so, he was certainly succeeding. Obi-Wan smiled wryly to himself and gingerly eased into a Force-less meditation. Hopefully, all he needed was some peace of mind.

* * *

Kaia Mora was waiting, as she had been for the past three days, ever since she'd come back from the mission and Obi-Wan wasn't there to greet her. The Council had been little use or comfort – _"He applied for extra time there. Isn't back yet? Stupid boy." _or words to that effect – and their praise for her first solo assignment didn't get rid of her feeling that she should have been with her Master. Just protocol, they'd said, we need you far more over here. But he'd applied for extra time to check out a hunch – the Council had been vague about _what_ hunch, precisely – so there must have been something more than protocol happening out on Raxus.

Four standard days. The average travel time from Raxus to Coruscant. Five standard days. The amount of time since Raxus had officially left the Galactic Republic, and therefore, the deadline for Obi-Wan's departure. Therefore, he should have arrived one day ago, or today, allowing for travel difficulties or an extended 'stop-over' in a space bar. Kaia did the maths over and over in her head, but it didn't make Obi-Wan's ship appear on the landing pad.

Every time a ship landed, she would jump up. Every time she saw that it was somebody else, she would slump back down. Their closed bond didn't help her nerves. Logically, she knew he'd just closed it off while they were on separate missions so as to avoid distractions. Logic didn't help her nerves either.

_This is ridiculous!_ She scolded herself. _Twenty-one years old, nearing knighthood, and you're a mess simply because your Master is blind drunk in space!_

A familiar ship landed and she was running towards it before she could stop herself. Her heart sank when only Qui-Gon and Anakin got off, but she still had hope. _Surely _Qui-Gon would know.

* * *

_Arguments, arguments, arguments._

It hadn't taken much for Qui-Gon Jinn to forgive his Padawan for taking off in the middle of an assignment. After all, he knew as well as anyone how hard it was to lose a loved one. Apparently, though, it was taking a good deal more to forgive Anakin for all but abandoning Obi-Wan.

To give the boy credit, he'd taken full responsibility, which was more than on some other occasions. Once Qui-Gon had come back from Raxus, Anakin had been over everything, apologising endlessly and asking what he could do. But that didn't help Obi-Wan, if he was even still alive.

If he was even still alive.

Anakin, trying to comfort him, had said that Obi-Wan was still alive, he could feel it. Maybe slightly harshly, he'd snapped back, saying that if Anakin hadn't run off then he wouldn't be needing to make excuses. He'd regretted it the moment he saw the hurt in Anakin's eyes, but it had quickly hardened into pride. Of course, Anakin Skywalker wouldn't stand for any insult, no matter how small or how true.

That had been the first of the arguments.

Since then, on their remaining day on the ship and on the four day flight back, it had been more of the same. Truth be told, he didn't particularly know what he wanted Anakin to say. And neither, he felt, did Anakin know what his Master would need to say to stop arguing. It was all completely pointless and didn't help either of them. Still, the arguments continued. And now Obi-Wan's padawan was waiting for them on the pad. By the slump of her shoulders he could tell she'd already figured out what had happened, but something about her told him she hadn't accepted it yet. She still harboured a little bit of hope, he realised, and sighed.

"No," he said before she could ask him anything. "No, he's not okay."

She'd known something was up. She was prepared for it.

"Is he..." she gulped, getting the worst over with. "Is he dead?"

"No!" Anakin cut in, and Qui-Gon silenced him with a look.

"We don't know," he said. "He was captured but we don't know if he... ah..."

"So, missing in action." The young woman smiled faintly, as if at an inside joke. "I can deal with that." As an afterthought, she added, "He does it often enough."

Qui-Gon had been so caught up in the drama of it all that he had forgotten to most beings, this was a simple occurrence – a Jedi getting in too deep and being captured. Even to the Padawan it was nothing new.

"Thing is," Kaia continued, only half talking to them, "I can't feel his Force presence. Like, at all. So I guess that means he must be alive somewhere, because otherwise our bond would have been severed, and I would have at least felt that."

Anakin threw him a triumphant look, but Qui-Gon was too relieved to care. Obi-Wan was alive. Obi-Wan was alive.

"I was just too worried to think straight. I should have seen that earlier."

Kaia's face grew more serious.

"Do you know anything more though? Who captured him? Why did he stay longer on Raxus?"

"No, not much," Anakin replied. "He stayed longer on Raxus because he thought he saw Nute Gunray in a crowd."

"I assume you know the name?" Qui-Gon added. Kaia made a face and nodded, and Anakin continued.

"But we don't know anything more. Master Obi-Wan talked to us once when he was on the edge of something, and even then he didn't exactly know."

"Wait," Kaia frowned. "You talked to him? He had contact with you?"

_Force,_ Obi-Wan had chosen a bright one.

"Did he call to you for help?"

Anakin hung his head and Qui-Gon shifted uncomfortably. He looked at his Padawan and saw that he wouldn't be saying anything. _So much for taking responsibility._ A white lie couldn't hurt until Anakin came out with everything, he decided.

"Yes, he did, but by the time we received it, it was too late."

_-Master?- _came through the bond.

_-Only until you tell her.-_

A pause. And then:

_-Thanks.- _An even longer pause, then, _-I'm sorry.-_

_-Me as well, Padawan.-_

Kaia had clearly sensed the conversation but had decided not to comment on it. She still looked worried but more relaxed, like she at least knew the facts now.

"I should go now. Thanks for telling me, I guess."

"Wait," Anakin called after her retreating form. "What will you do without him?"

By the Force, that was true. How could he not have considered that?

"I don't know, Master Bant's looking out for me at the moment. You know, favour for a friend and all that. But I guess the Council will assign me to another Master until we find him."

She waved again and left the pad.

* * *

The report to the Council was short and simple. They were pleased with the reconnaissance the two had carried out. They were not so pleased with the capture of Obi-Wan. They were pleased with the state they had left the assignment in. In fact, they passed over Obi-Wan with barely a second thought, and Anakin was torn between being secretly relieved and kind of angry.

At the end, his Master asked the Council about Kaia, and their response was exactly as she had predicted: she would be assigned to a Master, in fact Qui-Gon, while Obi-Wan was still missing. Anakin smiled, she was probably the best friend he had in the Order, and recently perhaps she'd become a little bit more to him. Through her he'd caught up on friendships he'd missed nine years of. It would be very nice to see more of her. Then it hit him; it was his fault that this was necessary. How could he even look her in the face? He had to tell her, but then she wouldn't want to go near him.

Too late he realised the Council was standing and Qui-Gon was leading out. Already Yoda was looking at him a little strangely, and he hurried after his Master.

"Do you have Kaia's frequency?" Qui-Gon asked once they were out. "The Council said she should move her things into our ship for assignments."

"No, I don't. And I _was_ there, Master."

"You certainly looked like you were on another planet."

"I was _thinking._ You always say I should meditate more."

Qui-Gon smiled.

"Using my own words against me. Whatever next?"

They walked together in companionable silence, Anakin happy that they'd made up their argument, or at least agreed to press hold on it for a while. Qui-Gon was like his father, the father that he'd never had. There were a good number of people in his life, but he honestly didn't know what he'd do without his Master supporting him. Obi-Wan felt like his much older brother and Palpatine like an uncle, though he always got the feeling Qui-Gon disapproved of their relationship, he didn't know why. And as the Supreme Chancellor had found out, it was extremely hard to stop Qui-Gon when he'd set his mind to things. Their meetings had continued, although far less frequently than otherwise. He wasn't quite sure what he felt about Kaia – best friend, sister, or... Anyway, even if he did like her, she would never notice him. Anakin was sure about that.

"Master, I just thought. What about Master Bant? Kaia said she was looking out for her."

"Good idea, my young Padawan. I even have her frequency. I'll call her now."

Anakin smiled at the praise. It seemed so long ago that they'd been arguing about Obi-Wan. Which brought it all back to Kaia, and how, one way or another, he'd completely ruined their friendship.

* * *

One of the more surreal things Kaia had done when she became a legal adult was to go for a drink with her Master and his friends. It became normal with time, but the first time was still engraved on her mind, which was incidentally the first time she'd ever had alcohol.

Today they were at Dex's Diner, a popular location seeing as Obi-Wan was friends with the owner. Half of everything there seemed to be on the house, and this time was no exception, even if there was no Obi-Wan. Kaia had ordered a beer and was sipping gloomily at it. With her were Masters Bant Eerin, Garen Muln and Siri Tachi, and Bant's Padawan. The mood was down. This was supposed to be one of the rare occasions when they were all grounded on Coruscant, and Obi-Wan's absence weighed down on them all. Of course, all the usual banter went on, but there was certainly more emphasis on the alcohol. When it came, Bant seemed to welcome the call as a distraction.

"Who's this?"

An indistinct mumbling came from the other end.

"Oh hello, Master. Is there anything I can do? [...] Yes, she's sitting opposite from me. [...] We're in a bar. [...] You know, Dex's."

A longer pause followed, and all eyes were on the blue-skinned Twi'lek.

"Yes, I'll tell her. [...] Okay. Hey, what was Obi-Wan doing on –"

The person at the other end had clearly hung up. Bant put down the comlink and smiled round.

"Such a rude man, I don't know how Obi-Wan lasted twelve years with him."

Garen and Siri laughed. Bant turned to Kaia.

"It was Master Qui-Gon. You're wanted at the Temple. Don't ask why, he hung up before I could ask anything else."

Kaia drained the beer and got up to go.

"Keep in touch, let us know if anything comes up about Obi. Oh, and don't tell him what I just said!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Master," Kaia replied innocently, and left.

* * *

Dooku had certainly meant what he said. For what felt like twenty-four standard hours, there was no interruption from his thoughts apart from a droid who gave him food and injected him with another force inhibitor. He hung there, waiting, thinking.

Until some more droids came to take him, where, he didn't know, there was nothing Obi-Wan Kenobi _could_ do apart from think on it.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **Again, thank you to all the visitors, faves, follows, etc. Any suggestions/criticism, please comment - this is my first fanfic, I have honestly _no_ idea. Any suggestions on how to write an author's note also welcome... :) Welcome to the next installment. I still don't own this thing. Did you really think I had the money?

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

He made his first attempt at escape that day.

Dooku had talked to him for hours in his office, trying to recruit him, playing the arguments back and forth. Kaia thought a Jedi pub crawl was surreal; wait till she saw a Sith doing his paperwork. Again, Obi-Wan couldn't fault Dooku on his thoughts on the Senate, but the measures he seemed to be prepared to take were far more dodgy, and he had the feeling that he hadn't heard half of it as well. At the end, Dooku motioned to one of the droids to untie him, as a gesture of trust.

It was too big an opportunity to miss.

Of course, he hadn't got far, but he'd taken several droids down with a blaster in the attempt. If he'd had his lightsaber, he would have got further though.

The droids tied him up again and dragged him back to Dooku's office. A single glance told Dooku the situation, and his face hardened. For a few hours, Obi-Wan had seen Count Dooku, his Master's Master. Now he saw a Sith.

"Disable him. This will not happen again."

And the droids took him back to the cell.

* * *

Kaia woke up in the middle of a Coruscant night, with a burning pain round her ribs.

_What the –_

She stood up slightly unsteadily in the little room Qui-Gon had given her in his apartment, and staggered towards the door. What _was_ this? She was in agony.

Someone knocked on her door as she trampled around trying to find the light switch. _Why the kriff is this apartment set up differently to the one down the corridor?_ Another knock followed, and Qui-Gon poked his head round the door, slightly nervously.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Kaia grunted, and swore violently as she tripped on her bag of stuff and catapulted herself into the light switch. The sudden flood of light revealed her room in an absolute mess, and a scandalised expression on Qui-Gon's face. _Whoops..._ She wouldn't have liked even Obi-Wan to hear her saying that one. But already the pain was dying down, and then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, giving place to something else, far more familiar. _Oh, kriff, kriff, kriff._ Kaia suddenly realised the impossibility of explaining this to Qui-Gon, who had been trained by a man and had only had male padawans. Even with Obi-Wan, it had been a very embarrassing conversation, which had culminated in him going out and buying a datapad entitled _How to Raise a Teenage Daughter as a Single Dad._ Apparently, the shopkeeper had found it hilarious.

"I... I just..." she trailed off, and threw caution to the winds. "_Girl stuff!_"

She ran into the fresher and hid there for the rest of the night. Some things could really wait until morning.

* * *

Kaia didn't know why she'd expected Anakin to be at his best in the morning. He didn't look like a morning person and he certainly didn't behave it. They ate breakfast in the small kitchen of the apartment – or rather she and Qui-Gon ate. Anakin drank coffee. Lots of it. All black.

Once he'd woken up enough, Anakin surprised her by speaking, vaguely coherently.

"S'wassup with you two s'morning?" He looked round at them when they stared back. "Y'know. Y'avoidin' each other's eyes."

Kaia flashed a look at Qui-Gon, and then decided Anakin was the safer place to look.

"What?" Anakin grumbled. "May not be a morning person but I'm not blind."

"You literally have your eyes shut," Kaia pointed out. Anakin raised his eyebrows expressively, his whole body a yawn.

"And? Jedi. Clever like that. Remember?"

She caught eyes with Qui-Gon and suddenly the entire situation was hilariously funny. Qui-Gon at first looked slightly affronted, but then his mouth quirked.

"How Obi-Wan does it I'll never know," he smiled, thereby accidentally killing the mood. Anakin shot out of his doze and Qui-Gon looked down to the floor . The room filled with tension, and Kaia frowned in confusion. Why did the mere mention of her Master's name make the two men so awkward? Then it hit her: they thought it was their fault, that they didn't get to him fast enough.

"It's not your fault, you know," she said clumsily. "You couldn't have done anything more. Nobody... Nobody blames you. I don't blame you. It's not your fault."

* * *

_Force, why? Why? Why?_

Anakin scowled and shifted restlessly. He hated meditation. He could never find his centre. He could never get in deep enough. It was the only thing that he couldn't do. And he hated it.

He was aware of Qui-Gon sitting next to him, perfectly centred, oblivious to the world. A look of perfect peace had settled on his face. At this stage in his apprenticeship, Anakin could recite the theory to meditation in his sleep. _Keep your mind on the here and now. Let your worries go to the Force. Feel the Force._ He knew dozens of mantras to centre himself. In fact, in theory he would be amazing at meditation. It was just that he couldn't do it in real life.

The closest thing he could do was to think on everything that was going on around him, and working out how to deal with it. Right now, that meant one thing: Kaia. The way she'd looked at him at breakfast. The way she'd tried to make him feel better. The way that she would never do again if she knew what had actually happened on Raxus. The way that, every time he saw her, he wanted to scream that it was his fault, it was all his fault.

_Here and now._

Kaia was neither here or now. She was in her own quarters that she shared with Obi-Wan, packing up her things to move into theirs'. He remembered when she'd first turned up at the door yesterday. Her black hair was as messy as usual, and her caramel-coloured skin flushed awkwardly. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, though she probably could be if she tried.

Anakin automatically felt bad for having these thoughts. Ten years ago, on Tatooine, he'd seen Padmé and he'd vowed that one day, she would love him as he had loved her. She would be his. He still thought of her every day. But after ten years of steady teaching from Qui-Gon Jinn, it sometimes seemed... a little childish? You don't make people your own, in any way, shape or form. But still, it was a vow. He'd made others that day and he'd kept them. He'd sworn to go back to his mother and protect her, and he had, though it came at Obi-Wan's expense. Anyway, Kaia would hate him for these thoughts. She was his best friend, but she was a Jedi through and through.

Like him, or like he was supposed to be.

Like he was. He made another vow, right there, right now. He wouldn't disappoint his mother again. He would be the best Jedi the galaxy had ever seen.

"Anakin?" his Master's voice broke into his thoughts. "Anakin?"

Anakin blinked and surfaced from what he realised was the deepest meditation he'd ever achieved. Qui-Gon's face broke into a smile.

"Padawan, you did it! That was perfect. Some knights would be put to shame by that."

Looking round, he saw the time on the holoprojector. _By the Force and the Sith and Master Yoda's pointy ears, I was in that meditation for three standard hours._

Kaia poked her head round the door.

"Is that Anakin I'm hearing?" With begrudging respect, she added, "Took you long enough."

_-Padawan, truly I'm impressed.-_

Anakin smiled. Maybe it was a good day after all.

_-Thank you, Master.-_

* * *

"_Disable him. This will not happen again."_

Obi-Wan was beginning to learn Dooku meant everything he said. Once he'd got back to his cell, the droids had broken two of his ribs with almost clinical care, and by the feeling of it at least two more after he'd blacked out. One thing was certain: he wouldn't be making any escapes in the near future. Obi-Wan grimaced ruefully, and stiffened when he felt the now familiar presence of Dooku walk into the room. The Sith was furious – even in his Force-inhibited state, Obi-Wan could feel the rage rolling off him in waves. With a flick of his wrist, he spun Obi-Wan round to look him in the face.

"Explain."

Then it hit him: Dooku had _trusted_ him. He'd truly seen him as Qui-Gon's old Padawan. In the closest sense that a Sith could trust, Dooku had done just that.

"Just one thing," Obi-Wan asked calmly. "When you bring the Senate down, what will you put in place? When you reveal this Sith of yours, who will you replace him with? Because for all your noble intentions, Dooku, it sounds awfully like you mean to have a dictatorship with another Sith in charge."

"You never supported me? You never even thought about it?"

"I thought about it. I agreed with virtually every point you made. But to work to bring it all crashing down, with a _Sith_..."

"You know nothing. You know nothing of the Sith," Dooku growled.

"I know enough," Obi-Wan echoed their first conversation.

"One day, you will regret this. You will die with the rest of your pathetic Order, and I will make sure you _suffer_ with it."

Obi-Wan smiled. Then he spat blood in Dooku's face. He watched the red droplets trickle down the old man's skin, and fall to the stone floor, one by one.

"You will regret this, Kenobi," the Sith snarled. "You will regret this day. You will regret ever crossing me. I promise you. I promise you."

"Oh, I already regret it, _Tyranus_. Hours of my life that I will never get back."

The Sith's face was deadly hard, rage twisting his features, the blood drying to a livid red trail. He said nothing, but stared intently at Obi-Wan, eyes flashing yellow.

"You will regret it," he said, softly. And Obi-Wan was reminded painfully that Dooku kept his word.

Another flick of his wrist sent electricity writhing through the manacles, and darkness flooded the room. Obi-Wan barely restrained a hiss of pain as every small movement became agony, and satisfaction flickered in the yellow eyes meeting his. Then Tyranus whisked out of the room, leaving himself to himself... and the darkness.


End file.
